Lightning Strike
by cein
Summary: Being struck by lightning has unexpected side-effects for Dave and Carter
1. A Sudden Shock

A Sudden Shock  
  
Note: This is all Cathy's fault for putting the idea in my head  
  
Spoilers for 'All in the family'  
  
Because I don't want to turn this in to a Carter angst fic   
I'm asserting that the only after-effects Carter suffered from the incident in 'All in the Family' are chronic back pain and a slight limp.  
  
  
-------------  
  
It was a dark and stormy night in the ER. Surprisingly there were very few patients.   
  
"They're probably all tucked up in their beds at home," said John. "Which is where we should be on a night like this."  
  
"Why Carter, this is so sudden," said Dave with a big grin. "But I'm afraid we have to stay on duty. Still I'm sure we could always sneak off to the suture room for a few minutes."   
  
"Yeah, I'm sure a few minutes is all it would take you, Malucci," said Randi. She was sitting at the far end of the reception desk painting her nails. This shift, she had decided to paint each nail with a different color. So far she had, purple, white, pink, orange, and blue on her right hand, and was working on lime green on her left thumb.  
  
John and Dave were propping up the reception desk, pretending to complete their charts. It had been so slow, that even Dave had managed to get all his paperwork up to date, but they knew that if Dr Weaver saw them idling, she was sure to find something for them to do. Outside there was a flash of lightning. Dave started counting silently to himself. A few seconds later there was a roll of thunder.   
  
"Hey, it's getting closer," said Dave eagerly. "Wouldn't it be cool it the hospital got struck, and the lights went out?"  
  
"Not if you happened to be stuck on a ventilator," replied John.  
  
"Oh yeah. I forgot about that. Still apart from that, it could be fun."  
  
"Been there, done that, a couple of years ago."  
  
"Man, why do I always miss out on the interesting stuff," moaned Dave. "Nothing interesting ever happens around here."  
  
At that moment the phone rang.   
  
"Somebody get that," ordered Randi as she applied another coat of 'scarlet surprise' to her index finger. "I don't want to smudge this."  
  
"You get it Carter," said Dave.  
  
"I'm senior," replied John. "You get it."  
  
"You're closer."  
  
"No, you are."  
  
"Will somebody answer that blasted phone," yelled Kerry.  
  
Dave and John looked at each other for a moment. Then simultaneously they both lunged for the phone. John being marginally closer got his hand to it first, but Dave slammed his hand down on top of John's only a fraction of a second later. Before either of them could pick up the handset, a bolt of lightning struck the hospital, traveled down the phone lines and into both of them. The resulting shock sent them both flying backwards. The last thing either of them heard as they lost consciousness was Kerry's scream of horror.   
  
----------------------  
  
"Oh man, that was some buzz," groaned Dave as his eyes flickered open. Someone was shining a light in his eyes. The light was removed abruptly and he heard Jing-Mei's voice saying, "Dr Weaver, he's coming round."  
From what seemed like a long way away, he heard the chief's voice saying, "Get him into trauma one, and page Kovac. I'll take care of Malucci."  
  
"Huh?" thought Dave. That didn't make any sense. He shook his head, to try and clear it. That was a mistake. He groaned again and closed his eyes as the world started spinning around him.   
  
"Easy John," said Jing-Mei. "Do you know where you are?"  
  
"Don't call me John," muttered Dave, wondering what the hell was going on. His head was aching, his back was aching, and it felt like someone had stuck a red-hot poker through his hand. He appeared to be slumped against a wall in reception. Looking around him, he saw Dr Weaver a few feet away, with her back to him. She appeared to be kneeling beside a prostrate figure. Dave blinked in surprise as he realized that the figure was wearing the same jeans and scrub top, as he was. He was about to comment on it to Jing-Mei, when he glanced down at himself. His eyes widened in shock, as he realized that he was wearing a white lab-coat. Dave let out a strangled gasp as he looked back to the other figure on the floor. The chief had moved out of the way, and Dave could see the face of the person she was working on. It was his own.   
  
"This is not happening, this is not happening," repeated Dave to himself.   
  
"John, do you know where you are?" repeated Jing-Mei.   
  
"County General ER," replied Dave. He could see the look of relief on Jing-Mei's face, and breathed a sigh of relief of his own. At least he wasn't totally crazy, he thought to himself. "No you're just trapped inside someone else's body," a little voice in his head told him. He groaned. This was not happening, this was not happening.  
  
"It's okay John, we'll get you something for the pain, as soon as we've checked you out."  
  
"Car...Malucci?" asked Dave, hoping that his body wasn't too badly damaged.  
  
Jing-Mei glanced over to where Dave's body lay. Kerry was just supervising his movement onto a backboard. "Dave's still unconscious. Dr Weaver's taking care of him. He'll be fine." She patted Dave's or rather John's arm reassuringly. "Now you just lie still, and we'll get you into Trauma one.   
  
---------------------  
  
John didn't regain consciousness until he was in Trauma two. Looking at the light above him, he groaned, "Oh no, not again."  
  
"Ah, I see you've decided to rejoin us Malucci," he heard Kerry say with a smile as she breathed a sigh of relief. "You needn't think that getting an electric shock is going to get you out of doing your charts."  
  
"What? What?" said John, totally confused. He put his hand up to his head, to find out what was hurting so much. "I'm not..." his voice trailed off as he looked at the arm he was moving. That was not his watch....and he was sure his arm hadn't been quite so muscular the last time he had looked at it, and where was his lab-coat, and why was he wearing scrubs? He closed his eyes and groaned. "This is not happening, this is not happening," he repeated to himself. Maybe if he kept his eyes closed, he'd wake up and find that this was all a dream.  
  
He felt a hand on his shoulder, and opened his eyes to see Kerry smiling down at him. "Dave," she said reassuringly. "It's not as bad as it looks. You have a mild concussion, a second-degree burn on you right hand, and a few bruised ribs. You're going to be sore for a while, but you are going to be fine."  
  
John listened to what she was saying, and suddenly realized that while he was in pain from his ribs, head and hand, his back was hardly bothering him. True it did feel a bit sore, but the nagging pains that had been his constant companion since the incident on Valentine's night were gone. What the hell was going on?  
  
"How's Mal....Carter?" asked John.   
  
"He's doing fine. He's concussed and has a burn on his hand like you, but he'll be all right," replied Kerry with a glance towards Trauma One.   
  
"What about his back? He didn't aggravate his old injury did he?"  
  
"It's good of you to be so concerned Dave, but as far as we can tell there's no serious damage, just some bruising."  
  
"Concerned, yeah," thought John. "I just don't want anything bad happening to my body before I get back into it." "That is assuming that there is a way to get back into it," said a little voice at the back of his mind.  
John closed his eyes again. "This is not happening, this is not happening," he repeated to himself.  
  
--------------------------  
  
Meanwhile back in Carter's body, Dave had decided to go with the flow, at least until he could figure out exactly what was going on.   
  
"C-spine, and head films look clear," said Jing-Mei putting them up on the light box for Luka to examine them.  
  
"How do you feel now Carter?" asked Luka.  
  
"Well, my hand is stinging a bit, but my back hurts like hell. You sure those x-rays are clear?" replied Dave.  
  
Luka looked concerned, "Was it troubling you before the accident?"  
  
"Of course not," Dave was about to say, before he remembered that he was supposed to be Carter. He tried to think back to before the lightning strike. True Carter had seemed to be moving a little stiffly. But of course Dave had been too wrapped up in his own plans to pay much attention. "A little, I guess," he said out loud.  
  
"Well, we will give you something for the pain, and now I think we can move you somewhere a bit quieter."  
  
"Exam two is free," said Chuny.  
  
------------------------  
  
Back with Dave's body, John was busy admiring his newly acquired muscles. "Definitely," he told himself as he flexed Dave's muscles. "Once I get back to my own body, I am going to start using those weight I got last year." A few minutes later, Kerry had him moved to exam two as well.  
  
---------------------  
  
"We're going to keep you here for a few hours observation," she said, smiling warmly at the two of them. "Try to get some rest and I'll be back to check on you both later."  
"Thanks chief." "Thanks Kerry," said Dave and John simultaneously.  
  
"You're welcome," replied Kerry with a smile, as she left the room. It wasn't until she got outside, that she stopped puzzled. She could have sworn that John had called her chief, and that Dave had called her Kerry. Shaking her head in puzzlement, she continued on her way.  
  
-----------------  
  
Left alone at last, John and Dave looked at each other. Both were slightly unnerved to see their own faces staring back at them.  
  
John was thinking, "Do I really look so pale. I never realized that I'd lost so much weight since the stabbing."  
  
Dave was thinking, "Looking good Malucci. Hmm, maybe I should get some larger scrub tops to wear. Nahh, chicks dig tight tops on a well muscled body."  
  
Dave was the first one to speak, "You okay, Carter?" he asked.  
  
"You mean apart from being in your body?" replied John sarcastically. "Oh I'm fine, or rather you're fine."  
  
"Hey don't get aggressive with me, this wasn't my idea. Hell if I was going to swap bodies, I certainly wouldn't have picked this one."  
  
"And just what the hell is wrong with my body?" asked John indignantly.  
  
"You mean apart from being all lanky and scrawny?" replied Dave sarcastically. "Not to mention the bloody awful back pain."  
  
"Yeah, well that's not my fault," replied John angrily.  
  
Dave realized what he'd said, "Hey man, I'm sorry. I just never realized you were in so much pain." He fell silent for a minute. "Has it been like this all the time?"  
  
"Pretty much. Some days worse than others."  
  
"So why didn't you say something? I mean I've seen you lift heavy patients, and do tricky reductions, and you never complained. You should have asked for help."  
  
John shrugged, "I guess I just wanted things to get back to normal."  
  
Dave looked down at his or rather Carter's body and grinned, "Well, I guess this is about as far from normal as it gets. What d'you think happened us anyway?"  
  
John shrugged. Dave continued, "Hey, maybe we're supposed to change something in each other's lives, and then we'll get swapped back."  
  
"I've news for you Dave. I don't see 'Al' anywhere."  
  
"Well we've got to think of some way of getting back."  
  
"Yeah sure we do, but can it wait a bit, I just want to rest for a while," replied John. At the back of his mind he was thinking, maybe this wasn't going to be so bad. After all, he wasn't in pain anymore, well except for the injuries he'd just received, and Malucci's body, he had to admit was in great shape. "I could get used to this," he said to himself.  
  
On the other side of the room, Dave was thinking. "Ok, so this body isn't in great shape, but Jing-Mei and a lot of other women seems to think it's all right. "This could be interesting," he thought to himself.  
  
To be continued  
  



	2. Delayed Reactions

Lightning Strike 2: Delayed Reactions  
  
(previous part was called 'A sudden shock')  
  
Note: This is all Cathy's fault for putting the idea in my head  
  
Spoilers for 'All in the family'  
  
Because I don't want to turn this in to a Carter angst fic   
I'm asserting that the only after-effects Carter suffered from the incident in 'All in the Family' are chronic back pain and a slight limp.  
  
Previously on ER  
Carter and Dave were struck by lightning and woke up in each other's bodies  
  
----------------------  
  
John yawned and stretched as he woke up in Exam two. He failed to notice that the movement caused him less pain than it had in months.  
  
"Man that was some weird dream I had," he thought to himself. "I wonder what time it is?" He moved his hand to bring his watch into his line of vision. It took him a few seconds to realize that this wasn't the watch that he usually wore, and why was his arm so muscular. Oh shit. John sat upright in the bed and looked down at his body. Oh man, this was real. He glanced over to the other bed, where Dave was sprawled. As he watched, Dave changed position and then moaned in pain. John was about to call out to him, when he heard a familiar voice outside the door.   
  
"And why was I not informed of my grandson's accident?" Millicent Carter was saying. "I only found out when I tried to call him at work."  
  
John couldn't hear the other person's response. Whatever it was, it was obviously not acceptable to Gamma.  
  
"Well that's just not good enough. I should have been informed immediately John was injured. I assure you, this matter will not end here."   
  
John hid a smile. This was typical Gamma.   
  
Millicent Carter pushed open the door to exam two. Her eyes swept round the room, barely noticing the young, well muscled, man sitting up in one of the beds, and settled on her grandson, asleep in the far bed. She breathed a sigh of relief. At least this 'accident' didn't appear to be as serious as the previous one.  
  
John's greeting died on his lips as his grandmother barely registered his existence, before turning to Malucci. "Of course," he thought. "She thinks I'm Malucci."   
  
Dave was in the middle of one of his favorite dreams when he felt a hand gently shaking him awake. Torn away from the tropical beach and half naked lifeguards, he opened his eyes and recoiled in horror when he saw Millicent leaning over him staring at him anxiously. "What's going on? Who are you? What are you doing?" he asked frantically.  
  
"John? Don't you know me?" asked Millicent, with some concern. The young doctor, what was his name? Kovac hadn't mentioned anything about memory loss.  
  
"Yeah, don't you remember what happened us Carter," said John, trying to jog Dave's memory.  
  
"What?" said Dave in confusion. His eyes widened as he noticed John or rather himself sitting on the bed a few feet away from him. Suddenly the memories came flooding back. "Oh man," he said, leaning back against the pillows and putting his arm over his face. "Oh man."  
  
"You'll have to excuse Carter," said John. "I think he's still a bit dazed."  
  
"And who are you young man?" asked Millicent.  
  
"I'm Dave Malucci," replied John. "But you can call me Dr Dave." Hearing this, Dave uncovered his eyes and glared at Carter.  
  
"Hmm," said Millicent suspiciously. She had a gut feeling that something was going on.  
"John," she said, turning to the man she thought was her grandson. "Dr Kovac says that you can be discharged soon. I'm taking you home with me for a few days."   
  
Dave's jaw dropped. This was not good. How the hell was he supposed to pretend to be Carter amongst Carter's own family? Thinking quickly he said, "That'd be cool, er that'd be fine, um, but Dave here said that we could both go back to his place. You know, uh, to keep an eye on each other."  
  
Millicent cast a suspicious eye on John. Now she knew something was wrong. "I won't hear of it."  
"Dr Malucci?" she said to Dave. "Perhaps you should stay with us for a few days. Until both of you are fully recovered?"  
  
"That sounds like a great idea," replied John, "Thank you for the offer."  
  
Dave looked at John, aghast, wondering what the hell he was thinking.  
  
"Good," said Millicent. "I'll have a car sent round to wait until you're ready to leave. I'll give Harvey instructions to stop by your house Dr Malucci, so that you may collect a few things for your stay."  
Patting Dave on the shoulder, she said, "I'll see you later John. Try not to get in any more trouble." To John she said, "Good day, Dr Malucci," and left the room.  
  
When the door closed behind her Dave turned to John and said, "What the hell was all that about? Why didn't you back me up and say we'd stay at my place?"  
  
"Dave, I've seen your place. There's hardly enough room to swing a cat, let alone have more than one person stay there. And as for your kitchen..."  
  
"There's nothing wrong with my kitchen," said Dave indignantly.  
  
"Nothing that a good power hosing couldn't fix. Last time I was there, you could hardly see the ceiling for strands of spaghetti."  
  
"Well how else are you to know when it's cooked?"  
  
"And the fridge. Well let's just say that there were burgers in there about to evolve into intelligent life, last time I looked."  
  
"Yeah, well maybe it isn't the most luxurious of apartments, but at least I'm not living with anyone. Do you know how difficult it's going to be to pretend things are normal, while we're living under your family's eagle eye? And who was that old lady anyway?"  
  
John sighed. Loath though he was to admit it, Dave did have a point. "Look, it's too late to do anything about it now. Let's just play it by ear. I'll fill you in on as much as I can, and if you slip up, you can always blame it on the concussion. And by the way, that 'old lady' is my, I mean your grandmother. Only I, that is you call her gamma."  
  
"This is going to be interesting, to say the least," said Dave.  
  
-----------------  
  
Kerry and Luka discharged John and Dave a few hours later.   
  
Kerry said to John "I suppose I don't have to tell you to watch out for any dizziness, nausea...."  
  
"Blurred vision, headaches, etc etc," said John smiling. "I know the drill Ke..chief. You don't have to worry about us, my.. that is Carter's family will keep an eye on us."   
  
"Good," said Kerry, ruffling his hair affectionately. "Because I'd hate to have to patch you up again Malucci. Now get out of here and I don't want to see either of you back in this ER for at least forty-eight hours."  
  
Over at the other bed, Dave was getting the same lecture from Luka. "Be sure and contact us if you have any further symptoms, okay?"  
  
"Sure thing dude," replied Dave absently as he pulled on his shirt.  
  
Luka frowned and then continued, "What about the painkillers? I can write you a prescription for stronger ones if you wish."  
  
Dave winced slightly as he felt a sharp pain in his back. "No, man, I can handle it. I mean once the bruising heals up, I'll be fine."  
  
"Well then, I will not keep you here any longer. Go home and rest, and I will see you in a few days."  
  
-------------------------  
  
"Whoa," said Dave as they approached the limo. "This is yours? I mean mine?"  
  
"Sorry to disappoint you 'Dave'," said John, "But it belongs to my grandfather."  
  
"Hey, does it have a built-in-bar in the back?"  
  
"Yes it does, and a TV, and a swimming pool."  
  
Dave looked at John in amazement. "You serious?"  
  
"No I'm not," laughed John. "It does have a mini-bar, but there's never anything kept in it." Dave's or rather 'Carter's' face fell. "Don't look so disappointed, there's a well stocked drinks cabinet at my grandparents house."  
  
"Lead on my man, lead on."  
  
-------------------------  
  
They stopped off briefly at Dave's apartment, where he picked out some clothes for John to wear.  
  
"Don't you wear anything other than jeans?" asked John as he surveyed Dave's room. Half the clothes were thrown on the floor and there didn't appear to be one suit among them.  
  
Dave was busy flinging t-shirts and underwear into a beat up backpack.  
"What else would I wear?" asked Dave in surprise.   
  
"Well a suit would be nice," said John as he picked up a t-shirt from the floor. He noticed the food stains on it and quickly dropped it, wiping his hands horridly on his jeans.  
  
"Too hard to keep properly," said Dave matter of factly. "At least with jeans and scrub tops I can just fire them in the machine. But a suit's a different matter."  
He saw the look on John's face. "Look, if you really want to wear a suit while you're me, there's one at the back of the closet, that I keep for Mass, and other occasions. You can bring it along if you like."  
  
John pushed aside the other clothes and finally pulled out a suit. To his relief it seemed a relatively conservative dark gray one. "What about a shirt and tie?" he asked Dave, who was rummaging under the bed.  
  
"Don't push it Carter," said Dave, in a muffled tone, as he tried to reach a trainer that was jammed among the books and other stuff crammed under his bed. Finally he retrieved it and threw it into the backpack with its mate. "Besides where are you going to be wearing all that stuff?"  
  
"Well at work...oh, I see what you mean. It would look a bit odd for 'Dr Dave' to be seen in a suit and tie."   
  
"Yeah, unfortunately I'm going to have to wear one." Dave grimaced at the thought. "Still I can always arrange for a little 'accident' so I have to change into scrubs."  
  
"Now wait a minute, you are not going to mess up my clothes," said John indignantly.   
  
"Why the hell do you wear a suit anyway? I mean I know you can afford to get them cleaned, but why go to all that trouble when jeans and a t-shirt are much more comfortable?"  
  
John opened his mouth to answer, but closed it again as he realized that he didn't have a good reason. "I don't know," he shrugged. "When I started my rotations, I just felt that wearing a suit under a lab-coat just seemed more professional. Why do you always wear scrubs?" he countered.  
  
"Can't afford to be dry-cleaning suits all the time. Besides, when I started working on the wards, I sort of felt more confident when I was wearing scrubs, even under a lab-coat. And at least if I got bled on or puked on, I knew it didn't matter. Anyway c'mon, lets get some stuff from your place and then head to your grandparents. Man, I'm hungry."  
  
Dave picked up the backpack and threw it at John. "This should keep you going for a few days."  
  
"How come I have to carry it?" asked John as he followed Dave out of the room.  
  
"Cause it belongs to 'Malucci' of course. It'd look a bit daft if 'Carter' was seen carrying it," replied Dave with a grin as he closed the door.   
  
-----------------------  
To be continued  
  
  
  
  



	3. Normal Service will be resumed as soon a...

Lightning Strike 3: Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible  
  
Note: This is all Cathy's fault for putting the idea in my head  
  
Spoilers for 'All in the family'  
  
Because I don't want to turn this in to a Carter angst fic   
I'm asserting that the only after-effects Carter suffered from the incident in 'All in the Family' are chronic back pain and a slight limp.  
  
Previously on ER  
John and Dave were struck by lightning and woke up in each other's bodies.  
They decided to play along, at least until they could figure out how to get back to normal.  
Gamma Carter insisted on bringing 'John' and 'Dave' back to her house while they recovered.  
  
----------------------  
  
Two days later....  
  
Dave finished his third bowl of cereal and pushed himself back from the counter. Wiping away his 'milk moustache' with the back of his hand. Strolling over to the fridge, he took a look inside. "Let's see," he thought to himself. "What to have for dessert?"   
  
Man, this was the life. Living in a mansion, with a bunch of servants to do all the work, and ready cooked food available round the clock. Dave wondered why John had ever moved out. Humming to himself he grabbed an ice cream from the freezer section and went looking for John. They were due to go back to work the next day and he wanted to get a few things sorted out first. Locker combinations and stuff like that.  
  
All in all, these last few days had been like a holiday for Dave. Of course it wasn't all fun. There was the nagging pain from his or rather John's injuries from the stabbing. And then there was 'Gamma', who had brought him breakfast in bed on the first morning he had been there. It had been a thoughtful gesture, and he would have appreciated it even more if he had been wearing anything when she came into the bedroom.  
  
To give her credit, she hadn't seemed fazed by the sight of her 'grandson' standing naked in front of the mirror. All she did was put the tray down on the bedside table and say, 'don't catch a cold dear' before leaving. Dave had been too shocked to say anything.   
  
"John." He heard her voice from below him on the stairs. Turning around he walked down to meet her, quickly finishing his ice cream as he went.   
  
"Hi there," he said, as he reached the spot where she was standing. "You going out tonight?"  
  
"I have to attend an opera. Will you be all right here?"  
  
"Sure thing. Jo..that is, Dave and I will probably watch a few videos, maybe make some popcorn."  
  
Millicent Carter frowned at the mention of Dr Malucci. "I've been meaning to talk to you about your friend," she said to Dave. "Is there something 'strange' about him?"  
  
Dave shrugged his shoulders. "What d'you mean?"  
  
"It's just that I've noticed him staring at me quite a lot. And he has this sort of 'wistful' expression in his eyes."  
  
"He probably just realized how mighty fine you're looking these days," said Dave with a grin. Inwardly he was cursing John.   
  
Millicent swatted Dave gently on the arm. "Well you take it easy. And don't stay up too late. I know you have an early start tomorrow."  
  
"We'll be good, I promise," said Dave, as he helped Millicent into her coat.  
  
She picked up her bag and headed for the door, stopping just to say, "Are you sure that you're ready to go back to work? I'm sure that nice Dr Weaver would let you have some more time off if you needed it."  
  
Dave laughed inwardly at the thought of the Chief's face if he asked her for more time off. "We'll be fine. Now go and enjoy yourself, and don't do anything I wouldn't do."  
  
Millicent gave Dave a light kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight John."  
  
"Goodnight Gamma," called Dave as she sat into the car.   
  
----------------------  
  
Alone once more he made his way up the stairs to the guest bedroom, where John was lying on the bed staring moodily at the ceiling.  
  
"Hey," said Dave as he flung open the door. "What's up?"  
  
"Don't you ever knock?" asked John, slightly irritated.  
  
"Lighten up, it's not as if you've got anything I haven't seen before," replied Dave with a grin.  
  
"Yeah right," muttered John. "Has Gamma gone to the opera?"  
  
"She just left. And while we're on the subject of 'Gamma', she told me she's caught you staring at her a lot. You'll have to stop doing it, or she'll think you're some kind of weirdo."  
  
John sighed. Every time he saw his grandmother, he wanted to yell at her, 'don't you recognize me? I'm your grandson.' Of course actually doing that would probably result in a quick trip to the Psych ward and a new wardrobe consisting mainly of straitjackets.   
  
------------------  
  
The next day, John and Dave were dropped outside the ER by Gamma's chauffer. Standing outside the doors, they hesitated momentarily, looking at each other for reassurance. "You ready for this?" asked Dave.  
  
John shook his head. "Not really, but we can't put it off much longer. We just have to remember who we're supposed to be."  
  
"Let's do it then." And together they walked into the ER.  
  
Chuny greeted them as they headed for the lounge. "Carter, Malucci, good to have you back."  
  
"It's good to be back," said Dave, easily.   
  
"Well, Dr Weaver's in the lounge. Said she wanted a word with both of you before you started."  
  
"Thanks Chuny," said John, as she headed for reception.  
  
-------------------  
  
"Just remember to keep calling her Chief," hissed Dave as he pushed open the door of the lounge.   
  
"Call her chief, right, got that," said John. He wished that they didn't have to face Kerry so soon. Of all the people in the ER, she was probably the most observant, as well as the one who knew him best. If anyone was going to realize that something was wrong it would be her.  
  
"Good morning Dr Weaver," said Dave, trying to remember his manners.  
  
"Morning Chief," grunted John, trying to forget his.  
  
"John, Dave, how are you feeling?" asked Kerry, pushing herself up from her seat at the table.   
  
"Bit sore in places," said John as he fumbled with the combination of Dave's locker. Damm, he couldn't remember the combination.  
  
"And you John?" asked Kerry smiling at Dave.   
  
"My hand's still a bit painful, but I'm not too bad otherwise," replied Dave. He could see that John was having trouble and he hoped that the chief would be called away before she got suspicious. Buttoning up the unfamiliar lab-coat, he tried to think of a distraction. Luckily Yosh came in with a question for Kerry. While she was busy explaining to him, Dave took the opportunity to quickly open the locker for John.   
  
John quickly threw Dave's jacket into the locker and grabbed his stethoscope. They were about to leave the lounge, when Kerry looked up from her conversation with Yosh, and said, "Just a minute Carter, I'd like a quick word with you."  
  
"Uh-oh," thought John, wishing that he had been able to fill Dave in on a bit more of his history with Kerry. Still, at least if Dave made any slip ups; he could always blame his concussion.  
  
"I'll catch you later Dave," said Dave as he turned around to face Kerry.  
  
"Sure thing, Carter," said John as he left the room.   
  
---------------------------  
  
Back in the lounge, Kerry sat down on the couch beside Dave.  
  
"So how are you feeling John?" she asked.  
  
"I'm fine," said Dave. "Well, still a little sore in places. But that's to be expected."  
  
"Hmm," said Kerry thoughtfully. "You know, you gave me quite a scare. When I saw you lying there on the ground, it was almost like deja-vu for me."  
  
"Wow, Kerry, I never realized," said Dave. It had never occurred to him that other people had been affected by the accident.   
  
"Well, just try not to do it again. I'm not sure I could stand to see you on a gurney a third time." Kerry patted Dave's hand affectionately.  
  
Dave caught her hand and squeezed it gently. "I'll be careful," he said, looking into Kerry's eyes.  
  
Kerry looked into John's eyes. There was an intensity there that she hadn't noticed before. Tearing her gaze away with difficulty, she pulled away her hand and stood up quickly. "Try...try to take it easy today," she said and hurried out of the room.  
  
Dave watched her limp away. Hmm, if he had done that while in his own body, the Chief would have hit him with her crutch, or worse. "Maybe this body has it's good points after all," he thought to himself as he headed out to work.  
  
----------------  
  
to be continued  
  
  



	4. Second Strike

Lightning Strike 4  
  
Note: This is all Cathy's fault for putting the idea in my head  
  
Because I don't want to turn this in to a Carter angst fic   
I'm asserting that the only after-effects Carter suffered from the incident in 'All in the Family' are chronic back pain and a slight limp.  
  
Previously on ER  
John and Dave were struck by lightning and woke up in each other's bodies.  
They decided to play along, at least until they could figure out how to get back to normal.  
Gamma Carter insisted on bringing 'John' and 'Dave' back to her house while they recovered. A few days later they returned to work.  
  
---------------  
  
The next few days passed uneventfully enough. Abby was pleasantly surprised that 'Dave' seemed to be less impatient when talking her through procedures.  
  
Jing-Mei was less pleasantly surprised to find 'John' spent more time looking at her chest than a chart she was supposed to be showing him.   
  
But overall things seemed to be going well, and nobody seemed suspicious. It took a bit of getting used to for both men. John had to remember to try and flirt with every woman that said hello to him. He also found it hard to remember to scrawl his way through the charts.   
  
Dave however used the burn on his hand as an excuse for his lack of penmanship. He valiantly refrained from chatting up his female colleagues, with one exception.  
  
"Dr Weaver," said Dave, with a smile, as he followed her in to the lounge. "Care to join me for a coffee. I'm on my break," he assured her hastily.  
  
"I could do with one," said Kerry. "I've just spent the last hour at a hospital board meeting. I'd rather deal with a fifty car pile-up than that crowd."  
  
Sitting down on the couch, she watched as Dave quickly made up a fresh pot of coffee.  
  
"There you go," said Dave, handing her the mug before sitting down beside her.  
  
"Mmm, that's good," said Kerry, taking a drink of it. "So how are your injuries? I hope they're not bothering you too much."  
  
Dave shrugged. "They're more awkward than anything else," he said. "I mean, it's not easy trying to hold a pen or a spoon or anything when you've got a dressing on your hand. But it's healing up okay."  
  
"That's good to know."  
  
----------------  
  
"Yo Haleh," said John, awkwardly. "Have you seen Da...Carter around anywhere?"  
  
"Last I saw he was in the lounge with Dr Weaver," replied Haleh.  
  
"Oooh," said Chuny, with a grin. "Maybe you shouldn't go in. You never know what they might be up to." She and Haleh started laughing.  
  
"Please," said John, with a pained expression on his face. He headed for the lounge, wondering why the nurses' teasing was affecting him so much. True, Dave and Kerry, or rather 'Carter' and Kerry had been spending a lot of time in conversation together. Although from what John had seen, Kerry usually seemed to initiate these conversations. "She's just worried about me," John told himself. "And Dave is trying to play along so nobody suspects what's happened. That's all it is." He wondered why he found it so hard to convince himself.  
  
------------------------  
  
"You seem to be getting along very well with Dr Weaver," said John, that night when they were eating dinner. "Or should I say 'John' is getting along very well with her."  
  
Dave frowned. "What's your point, Carter?"  
  
"I just think that maybe you shouldn't be spending as much time with her. I mean, Kerry knows me about as well as anyone in County. If anyone can figure out that something's wrong then it'll be her. Especially if you keep annoying her the way you have been."  
  
"Hey, if I am 'annoying' the Chief, I'm sure she's perfectly capable of letting me know," said Dave.   
  
"Fine, fine," said John, defensively. "I just don't think it's a good idea, that's all."  
  
"Yeah, well that's your opinion."  
  
John frowned, but didn't comment further.  
  
The rest of the meal was spent in silence, and John and Dave, ignored each other for the rest of the night.  
  
------------------------  
  
"Chuny, where's Carter," snapped John angrily.   
  
Chuny looked at 'Dave' in surprise. "I think he went up to the roof."  
  
John stormed off without a word of thanks.  
  
"Jeez, what's up with Malucci?" Chuny asked Amira.   
  
Amira shrugged. "He's been a bit moody ever since the accident. Maybe the flash scrambled his brains or something."  
  
"How could you tell," snickered Chuny.   
  
---------------------  
  
John pushed open the door to the roof. Dave was leaning against the far wall, looking out over the city. He looked up as Carter stormed over to him.  
  
"Hey man, what's up?" asked Dave lazily.  
  
"I was about to ask you the same question," said John angrily.  
  
Dave raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"  
  
"I just heard Kerry telling Mark that she was going for drinks with you after work."  
  
"Yeah, so?" said Dave, puzzled. "We got to talking in the lounge. She said she was looking forward to the end of her shift, and I asked her if she'd like to join me in a coupla drinks."  
  
"You can't do that," said John, pacing back and forth.   
  
"What's the big deal? We've been getting on pretty well these last few days."  
  
John stopped his pacing and stared at Dave. "The big deal is that she thinks you're me. If you were still in your own body, she wouldn't be giving you the time of day."  
  
-------------------  
  
"Amira," said Kerry, as she dumped a file on the desk. "Have you seen Dr Carter around?"  
  
"Hmm, someone's popular today," said Amira. Kerry looked at her suspiciously.  
Amira explained. "Malucci was looking for him a few minutes ago as well."  
  
"And what did you tell him?" Kerry asked impatiently.  
  
"That Carter went up to the roof," said Amira.  
  
"Thank you," said Kerry, as she crutched away from admit.  
  
Lydia watched as Kerry headed for the roof. "Looks like someone's in a hurry for their date," she said with a sly grin.  
  
-------------------  
  
"And what the hell do you mean by that?" asked Dave frowning. "I've always liked the Chief and now's my chance to get to know her a bit better. I think I've really got a chance with her."  
  
"A chance?" said John horrified. "For what? A quick roll in the hay and then moving on to your next conquest?"  
  
"It's not like that," snapped Dave. "The Chief's special. I think we could get something going between us."  
  
"And what happens when we switch back? Have you thought about what happens then?"  
  
"I've news for you Carter. I don't see that happening any time soon."  
  
"It's not you she's interested in," said John, angrily. "It's me she thinks she's getting involved with."  
  
"No," snapped Dave. "It may be your body, but it's my mind, my character that's got the date with her."  
  
Neither man noticed the storm clouds overhead.  
  
----------------------  
  
Kerry pushed the door open to the roof. After thinking it over, she had decided that going for drinks with 'Carter' was not such a good idea. It wasn't that she disliked the idea; on the contrary Carter's company had been most agreeable these past few days. But there was something about him that was rather unsettling that she couldn't quite put her finger on.  
  
She frowned as saw Malucci and Carter together. She really didn't want to turn John down in front of Dave. Waiting by the door, she decided to let them finish their conversation before making her presence known.   
  
Kerry blinked in surprise as she heard what the two were saying to each other. This had got to be one of Malucci's pranks she thought to herself. Body swaps?  
  
----------------------  
  
"I won't let you do this to her," snapped John.   
  
"Oh yeah, and how are you going to stop me?" yelled Dave  
  
In answer, John threw a punch at Dave. Dave stumbled back into the wall. Recovering quickly, he lunged at Carter, knocking him to the ground.   
  
Kerry had been watching unobtrusively. Now horrified, she limped forward, yelling at the pair to break it up. She was several meters away when the bolt of lightning struck them. For the second time in as many weeks, Kerry screamed in horror as Dave and Carter were flung apart to land unconscious a few meters away from each other.  
  
-------------------  
  
Dave's eyes flickered open and he found himself staring at the ceiling of a hospital ward. Trying to sit up, he groaned as his whole body ached.   
  
Dave's groans alerted Kerry, who had been asleep in a chair near the door.  
"Hey, how're you feeling?" she asked, as she limped over to him.   
  
"Terrible," groaned Dave.   
  
"Well, that's to be expected after being stuck by lightning a second time," said Kerry, with a smile of relief. "You didn't get off quite as lightly as the last time."   
  
She saw Dave's look of worry, "It's not too bad," she said, reassuringly. "Mild concussion, lots of bruises and a few minor burns. We'll be keeping both of you in for a day or two just for observation."  
  
Dave blinked as Kerry indicated the figure in the other bed. His eyes widened as he recognized the pale face that he had seen in his mirror every day for the past week.  
  
"Carter," he breathed, in disbelief. "How...?" he looked down at his arms, relieved to see the familiar muscles straining against the hospital gown.  
  
Kerry frowned. "John was struck by the same bolt of lightning as you," she said. "Don't you remember?"  
  
"I thought I was just dreaming," said Dave, thoughtfully.  
  
"Well, if you were dreaming, you're awake now," said Kerry with a smile. "And it looks like you have company." She nodded to the other bed where John was groaning as he woke up. "Nice to have you back Carter."  
  
"Wha? Who?" stammered John, wondering how Kerry had found out. "I'm not..." His voice trailed off as he saw Dave grinning at him from the other bed. "Dave?"  
  
"The one and only," replied Dave. "Looks like we were both pretty lucky. I mean, how many guys get struck by lightning and live to tell the tale."  
  
Kerry was carefully examining Dave's vitals while he was talking. Now she moved over to check on John's. "Well you don't seem to have too many side-effects beyond the bruising and burns. I'm going to let everyone know that you're awake, but I'm not letting any visitors in for a few hours. You both need to get some rest."  
  
Kerry hesitated before continuing. "I heard you two arguing on the roof, just before...before the lightning strike. Either of you want to tell me what was going on?"  
  
Dave shrugged. "Don't know what you're talking about Chief. Carter and I don't have anything to argue about, do we Carter?" He looked over at John.  
  
"Malucci's right," said John quickly. "We've nothing to argue about...not now."  
  
Kerry looked at them both suspiciously, but they appeared sincere enough. "Perhaps I was mistaken," she conceded.  
  
"Yeah," said Dave, wondering just what else Kerry had overheard.  
  
He waited until Kerry had left the room before turning back to John.  
  
"So," he said. "Looks like things are back to normal."  
  
"Yeah, or what passes for normal around here," said Carter with a twinge of regret. He had enjoyed the lack of pressure that went with being Dave. It had been nice not to have people expecting him to know everything. It had also been nice not to have the constant nagging pain in his back, although that seemed to have lessened in two weeks. Possibly due to the exercise regime that Dave had started. John resolved to continue with it. After all, anything Dave could do, he could do as well.  
  
Dave for his part was relieved to be back in his own body. While Carter's body wasn't too bad he supposed; there was nothing like his own well toned, finely muscled body. And it was a relief to be rid of his backache, well the one that had been caused by the stabbing. He could feel the pain from being flung across the roof, but at least that was only temporary. His one regret was that he wasn't going to be able to get to know Kerry a little bit better.  
  
A thought suddenly struck him. "Hey Carter, you know how the first strike swapped us and the second one swapped us back?"  
  
"Yeah," said Carter, wondering where this was going.  
  
"Well, you know the way the Chief was on the roof as well."  
  
"Uh-uh."  
  
"Wouldn't it have been interesting if she'd got swapped as well. You know; if she'd ended up in one our bodies and one of us ended up in hers."  
  
"Oh God, Malucci. I do not even want to think about it," said John glaring at Dave. "Oh man, bad enough I'll have nightmares about being trapped in your body, now you want me to imagine being trapped in Kerry's." He rolled his eyes.   
  
"You've got to admit, it would be kinda cool. I wonder how we could rig it."   
  
John glared at Dave. "Dave?"  
  
"Yeah Carter?"  
  
"Just shut up, please."  
  
"Sure thing Carter," said Dave with a grin, as he curled up in the bed.  
  
---------------------  
  
THE END  
(I really really mean it g)  
  
  



End file.
